Curator of Maidstone: United in Football exhibition, John Bunyard, builds online archive of Kent's history
12:09, 22 April 2020
updated: 10:29, 23 April 2020
The curator of the much-loved Maidstone: United in Football exhibition at the town's museum has found a way for people to continue learning about Kent's rich history in Lockdown.
John Bunyard has created an online archive containing hundreds of stories sharing tales of Kent's past.
From the kings and queens who paid a visit, to sporting heroes and must see attractions, Old Bunyard's Kent Pride is a permanent online museum packed with information on the county's achievements.
The 65-year-old said he wanted to give people something positive to read while in isolation.
"I got stuck into this when the crisis started. My wife gave me the inspiration as she works at Maidstone Yoga Studio and has been working hard to get internet classes going.
"After seeing what she achieved I thought, what can I offer people at this time?
"I've always had an interest in Kent's history and since curating the Maidstone United exhibition I built a database of stories relating to various things that have happened here.
"So I decided to take the database and expand it by really throwing myself into it.
"I wanted to create a place where people who are feeling lonely or are battling mental health issues can go in the interim to keep themselves occupied.
"I ended up with so much material I split it into categories each containing hundreds of stories, some going back 2,000 years.
"We've got so much to be proud of in the county and there's so much to tell so I've put it all in a permanent space online.
"It’s a big project that will take months to complete so for that reason, I'm posting everything in instalments."
The Maidstone: United in Football exhibition finished in January but Mr Bunyard, who lives in Egerton, was inspired by the response.
"More than 20,000 people visited the exhibition which shows there's a real interest for social history in Kent.
"I wanted to expand it to cover more than just sport and some of the stories I found astonished me. The most surprising was the number of famous Romans who visited the County, Julius Caesar being one of them.
"There are stories about people born in Kent, must visit areas as well as customs and ways of life we invented down here.
"I've really tried to cover the ground, there's something everyone can enjoy so long as you've got a connection to Kent."
